Grey in Unova
by Grey-Hearted Hero
Summary: Grey is a young man living a simple life in Nuvema Town. One day, he realizes that a simple life in Nuvema Town is BORING. And so, he and his friends decide to embark on a journey through the Unova region.
1. Chapter 1

**First of all, if you haven't figured it out already, Grey is my version of Hilbert/Black/Touya/whatever else you call him, I don't care. Since this is more or less a novelization of my first playthrough of the game (as well as some original content to keep things interesting), using that as his name makes it a little more personalized.**

**But you don't care about this stuff. On with the story!**

* * *

><p>I wake up one morning, and I lay there motionless, watching the ceiling fan slowly turn above me.. My name is Grey, don't worry about my last name. I'm seventeen years old and I live in Nuvema Town with my mom and my sister, Sil. Actually that's not entirely true, Sil left about a month ago on some adventure with a pokémon Professor Juniper had given her. I, meanwhile, stayed home and enjoyed a carefree lifestyle: watching TV, playing video games, hanging out with my friends Cheren and Bianca.<p>

But on this particular morning, I came to a profound and life-changing conclusion.

"I'm bored."

In a town of less than a dozen people, you run out of things to do fast. And so, I stayed in my bed thinking about some new thing that could break the cycle of my humdrum life in Nuvema Town. Finding the ceiling fan's rotations becoming stale, I turned my attention to the infinitely-more-exciting "sunlight spreading down my wall." As the light creeped down toward the floor, it illuminated a small pile of envelopes sitting atop my dresser. Each of them contained a letter my sister had sent home on occasion while she was traveling.

Traveling?

My mind had yet to fully wake up, but the spark of idea was forming as I stared at the letters. I haul myself from under the blanket and make my way over to the stack of paper. I pick one up and read it. Then another. Then the rest of them, and the idea in my head transformed into a full-fledged decision. I would follow in my sister's footsteps and go on my own pokémon journey. I mean, what else am I gonna do?

Turns out, Cheren and Bianca had the same idea.

The next day, a package from Professor Juniper's lab turned up on my doorstep. When the three of us found out that we all wanted the same thing, we arranged for our starters to be delivered to one of our houses and we would all make our selections. Cheren arrived soon after I called him. Like I said, small town. Bianca, on the other hand, seemed to be taking her time.

"You guys live right next to each other," I say to Cheren after ten minutes of waiting. "Why is it taking her so much longer to get here?"

"You know how Bianca is. She's not all there at the best of times."

"Yeah, but that's what makes her special. You can never predict what she'll do next."

We heard the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut just then.

"I certainly didn't predict that," Cheren said with a smile. "I was expecting her to take another five minutes before she even left the house."

Footsteps pounded up the stairs into the hallway outside, and Bianca barreled into the room.

"Sorry...I'm...late." She panted, doubled over with her hands on her knees.

Cheren shrugged. "It's nothing we're not used to by now."

I was about to offer to get her a glass of water when Bianca suddenly perks up, hands clasped and eyes shining with anticipation."So, is it true? Are they really here?"

"Yep." I wave over to the box sitting on my desk. "Who's going first?"

"Since it was delivered to your house, Grey, you should get the first pick," Bianca reasons. Cheren nods his approval of the arrangement, and I walk to the box and remove the lid.

Inside are three red and white balls nestled in a bed of foam. Above each, there's a card with the name and a picture of the pokémon inside.

"Let's see. Sil chose Oshawott when she started out and I'm partial to Fire-types, so I'll take Tepig."

Bianca rushes up and takes a ball out of the box. "Great! Then, I'll take Snivy. Cheren, you can have Oshawott."

Cheren seemed taken aback by her brashness. "Wait! You can't just...Fine, I would have chosen that one anyway."

Bianca suddenly gets an idea and starts jumping up and down. "Hey, you know what we should do? Now that we have pokémon, we should have a battle!"

Cheren sighs and rubs his temple. "Bianca, we can't have a battle in here. Something could get broken, if not by the pokémon, then by the way you keep jumping around."

"We'll be careful. Come on, Grey!" She tosses the Poké Ball and her Snivy appears in a flash of light.

Guess I don't have a choice. I call out my Tepig and the battle begins.

Snivy uses Tackle.

Tepig uses Tackle.

Snivy uses Tackle.

Tepig uses Tackle.

Not quite what I was expecting from my first pokémon battle.

Eventually, Snivy faints and Bianca returns it to its ball.

"Wow, Grey, your pokemon must be really strong!"

"Well, I don't know about that. I probably just got lucky is a-"

Cheren coughs and we look over at him. "You two might want to take a look around."

Wondering what he means, we do just that. My reasonably tidy bed has the sheets thrown over the edge and the mattress knocked halfway off, everything that was on a shelf is now in the floor, and...are those footprints on the wall?

"How did all of this happen from them tackling each other?" I wonder out loud, feeling a little heartbroken by the sight of my TV lying screen-down on the floor.

"Guess we got a little carried away." Bianca says while Cheren and I give her a "You think?" look. "But since the room's already a mess, maybe you and Grey should have a battle now."

Cheren sighs again, but I can tell he wants to. "I guess I can't let you two have all the fun," he finally says.

After a few more minutes of tackling, Tepig manages to defeat Cheren's Oshawott.

"You managed to beat both of us," Chern muses "Perhaps you have some skill after all."

"That must have been hard for you to admit," I joke.

"More than you know. Now, I suggest we should apologize to your mother for making such a mess before we go visit the professor."

When we do just that, Mom says not to worry about it. Our journey is more important than worrying about a messy room and she would take care of it. Bianca and Cheren decide to wait for me outside as I run back upstairs and salvage my hat, jacket, and bag. Once I have everything, I return to the front door, open it, and step out into the early autumn sun.

* * *

><p><strong>And that takes care of the game's first five minutes.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Cheren and Bianca had told me to meet them outside Professor Juniper's lab while I was getting my stuff together. When I got there, however, Cheren was the only one outside.

"Where's Bianca?"

"She said she wanted to say goodbye to her parents before we left. You'd think she would have done that before while she was still there."

"Give her a break, Cheren. She was excited about getting her pokémon."

Cheren sighs. "I guess. Just in case, though, do you think you could go get her? Make sure she doesn't space out or something? I'd hate to keep the professor waiting."

Knowing Bianca, I figured Cheren was right, so I decide to go to her house. When I open the door, the sound of shouting tells me Bianca has just informed her parents.

"No, no, a thousand times no!"

Oh great. Super Dad is at it again.

Bianca's father was, for lack of a better word, overprotective. Right now, he was probably trying to talk his daughter out of leaving. I don't really blame him for wanting to keep her safe, but that doesn't mean he always did what was right.

To her credit, Bianca can be just as stubborn sometimes. "But I...I'm not going alone, Grey and Cheren are coming too. And besides, this is my decision." She turns away, leaving her father speechless, and sees me standing in the doorway. "Sorry, Grey, I always keep you guys waiting. Let's go to the lab."

Yeah, before your dad's heart explodes.

I notice on the way to the lab that Bianca's looking a little down about her confrontation with her father. So I decide to lighten the mood with a joke.

"Hey, Bianca, if your dad was a pokémon, what would be his favorite move?"

"Um...I don't know."

"Frustration."

"That's the worst joke I've ever heard." So she says, but she gets back that cheerful glow everyone loves about her.

We find Cheren leaning against the wall outside Professor Juniper's lab, and we go inside.

As we walk in, the professor turns away from one of her machines to welcome us. "Hello, young people! My name is-"

"We know who you are, Professor," Cheren interrupts. "We've known you our entire lives, after all."

"Please, Cheren, this is an important day, we need to have some degree of formality. Besides, I already memorized the speech. Again, my name is Professor Juniper. I have devoted my life to studying pokémon and how they came into existence." We all know how this goes. Basically, she wants us to meet as many pokémon as we can in order to fill out the Pokédex. To help us on our way, she also gives us some Poké Balls before telling us to meet her in Accumula Town.

We leave the lab and make our way to the town's entrance. At the edge of town, Bianca stops us. "Since we're all going on this journey, I think we should take our first step together."

Cheren and I share a "What is she talking about?" look, but decide to humor her. The three of us line up side-by-side, link arms, and step onto the dirt road of Route 1. One step down, several million to go.

Bianca breaks free and starts rubbing her hands together. "I'm so excited! What do you say we have a little contest? Whoever has the most pokémon by the time we get to Accumula Town wins."

Cheren pushes up his glasses, a habit of his whenever he starts getting ready for something. "That idea actually sounds interesting. It'll fill out the Pokédex too, so I doubt the professor will complain."

I gasp with fake enthusiasm. "Oh boy, Cheren thinks it's a good idea! Now we just_ have _to do it."

Cheren just glares before we split up to begin searching for wild pokémon. Several minutes later, we meet up to compare our catches. I had managed to catch a Lillipup and a Patrat while Bianca and Cheren had only caught one pokémon each.

"Wow! You have three pokemon now, Grey?" Bianca asked. "I'm impressed."

Really? 'Cause I ran into like ten others on the way over here.

Cheren walks ahead, probably a little put off by being beaten...again. "We should probably go meet the professor. She said she'd be waiting in front of the Pokémon Center."

When we found Professor Juniper, she led us inside and gave us a rundown of all of the facilities found in a Pokémon Center. I thought it seemed a little unnecessary, but then again, we had never needed to use one before, so I guess it would make sense to get an explanation.

Before she left, the professor gave us one last piece of advice. "When you get to the next town, find a woman named Fennel. Good luck, and remember to have fun." After that, she went outside and back to Nuvema Town.

Bianca decided to stay behind and do some shopping while Cheren and I left the Pokémon Center. Outside, we notice a crowd forming towards the center of town and decide to see what's going on. A group of people in strange costumes have formed a line on top of a grassy hill. The line splits, and a green-haired man wearing robes and some kind of device where his right eye should be steps through.

"What's going on?" I whisper to Cheren.

"I don't know. But it looks like the man in the robes is going to make some kind of announcement."

And that's exactly what he does.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about pokemon liberation." The townspeople start murmering and giving each other questioning looks. "I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However, is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans only assume this is the truth." He starts going on a rant, claiming that pokémon are practically being tortured by their trainers and that they deserved to be "liberated."

Ghetsis finishes his speech and turns to leave, his followers forming a circle around him as they walk.

After they leave, the crowd disperses and I turn to Cheren. "So, what did you think of all that?"

"I don't know. Some of what he said made sense, but I don't think it's as bad as he claims. I may just be paranoid, but I sense there's something more sinister at work here."

A new voice speaks up from behind me. "Just now...your pokémon was talking." I turn around and see a guy about my age with long, and I mean really long, green hair and an outfit of mostly black and white. He also has this far-off look in his eyes.

"Talking?" I repeat. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, so you can't hear it either...How sad. My name is N."

Weird name.

"I'm Grey, and this Cheren."

"You're trainers aren't you?" N's face seems to darken. "That means you're going to capture many pokémon. I'm also a trainer, but I wonder if pokémon are really happy like this." Then he pulls out a Poké Ball. "Let me hear your pokémon's voices!"

This guy is weird, but I have a feeling it's just gonna get weirder.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh, N was just introduced. All of his fangirls are going to go crazy now.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

N sends out a Purrloin, so to be funny, I call out my Lillipup. The two pokémon circle each other, occasionally lashing out with Tackle or Scratch.

"More! Let me hear your pokemon speak," N shouts.

"Dude, stop that. It's creepy."

Purrloin growls loudly and the sound causes Lillipup to freeze. I call out to it, and Lillipup shakes its head to brush away the fear before finishing the fight with its next attack.

As he calls back his pokémon, N says to himself, "Interesting. I never expected to hear pokemon say such things."

I bend down to scratch Lillipup's head. "Yeah, I'm sure my dog's got quite a sailor's mouth."

N looks down at us, face unreadable. "As long as they're confined, pokemon will never be perfect beings. That's why I'm going to change the world." He turns around and walked away.

"He's a strange one," Cheren observes. "But I'm not going to worry about it." He starts walking the same way N had. "I'm going ahead to Striaton City to challenge the Gym Leader. See you later."

After he disappeared, I went back to the Pokémon Center to tell Bianca we're moving on. But once I got inside, she was nowhere to be seen. I tell myself not to worry, she'll show up sooner or later.

I heal my pokemon and follow Cheren's lead: Route 2 and Striaton City. I had hoped to get through the area pretty quickly, but a few things got in the way. The first of which came in the form of a boy I walked by. I glanced over and apparently made the mistake of establishing eye contact because he came running over to me.

"Our eyes have met," he declared, striking a dramatic pose. "According to the Trainer Code, we must have a pokémon battle of epic proportions!"

I stare at him for a few seconds. "Kid, how much caffeine have you had today?"

He answers me by throwing his Poké Ball at my head. I manage to duck under it, but I almost fall on my face as his Patrat runs between my legs.

I pull the front of my cap down, a habit Bianca affectionately calls "Pulling the serious switch."

"Alright kid, maybe this'll calm you down. Tepig, go!" Tepig paws at the ground as it prepares to fight. "Time to try out your newest move. Ember!"

A small ball of fire shoots out of Tepig's mouth. The Patrat jumps out of the way, and the flame continues its flight right into a nearby bush. With a shout of alarm, I dash over and stomp out the flame before it gets out of control.

"Patrat, use Tackle!" I hear behind me. The little punk's attacking while I'm distracted! Well, he's not getting the satisfaction.

"Ember!"

The Patrat's charge is interrupted by the inconvenience of getting blasted in the face by a fireball. The rat was instantly rendered unconcious. The kid shakes my hand like twenty times in half a second before running off to the Pokémon Center. As I watch him go, I realize something. All of that was just my first battle with a random trainer! If they're all that chaotic, I might go crazy before this journey is halfway over.

As I continue walking and encountering other trainers, I start to get a feel for battling and my earlier worries are soon forgotten. I also find a wild Purrloin and decide to catch it. Some of the other trainers had them, even N, so why not? I stick around for a bit, gaining experience with my team and developing strategies. Finally, just when I'm ready to continue on my way, I hear a voice calling out.

"Hey, Grey! Wait up!"

Running over from out of nowhere was Bianca, just like I knew she would.

"So, where have you been?" I ask her.

"While you were fighting that guy in Accumula Town, I went exploring on Route 1 since we just kinda rushed through it. After that, I came back and saw you guys were already gone. Say, do you want to have a pokémon battle now that we've toughened up some since last time."

I would much rather be in Striaton City by now, but I decide to humor her. We start out by pitting our Lillipups against each other, but hers doesn't even have a chance to move before mine knocks it into next week with a single Tackle. Must have hit a weak spot or something. Her Snivy was next, so I switched in Tepig. Snivy put up quite a fight, dodging Embers and striking with well-timed Vine Whips. In the end, Snivy's weakness to fire eventually won the battle for us.

"You're a tough one, Grey," Bianca says as she calls back her pokemon. "But that just means I'll have to try even harder and train more." She walks off and I turn back to the trail.

When I reach Striaton City, I ask for directions to Fennel's place. Her lab is actually in a house that I had passed by on my way into town, but when I try to go in, I'm told to come back later because she's in the middle of an experiment. In the meantime, I explored the rest of the town and learned of a place called the Trainer's School. New pokémon trainers came to this place to learn some helpful tips for their journeys. It sounded interesting, so I decided to pay it a visit.

The school's lesson of the day was on status conditions like poison and the items that cured them, but I pretty much knew all of that already. I take a few books from the shelves and start thumbing through them when someone walks up beside me.

"Well, this is a rare sight. Grey reading a book."

I look up to see Cheren leaning against the bookshelf.

"What are you doing in a place like this, Cheren? I thought you already knew everything ever."

"Maybe in most subjects, but battling is still new to me and it would be wise to learn everything I can now. What do think about testing what we've learned firsthand?"

Should have known this was where he going. Luckily for us, the front of the classroom was designed for battles.

"Let's at least try not to make a mess of this place, all right?" Cheren jokes as we take our positions and spectators start to gather.

His first choice is Oshawott, and mine is Purrloin. It wasn't very strong, but it was fast, and Oshawatt was soon taking damage. Just when it looked ready to go down, it ate something.

"What the heck was that!" I shout accusingly. "Is that even allowed?"

"Of course it is, all I did was give Oshawott a berry. If a pokémon is holding one, they can eat them when they get into trouble."

"Cool, but that only means I'll take slightly longer to beat you."

"We'll see."

The battle went on for a few more minutes, he had a Purrloin of his own and we had a catfight on our hands. Yes, I know that was terrible. By this point, the members of the crowd were cheering wildly for either me or Cheren. Eventually, even with his items, I end up defeating Cheren.

After the battle, Cheren decides to stick around and see what else he can learn. He also gives me some berries of my own. If nothing else, I could give them out as a snack to my pokémon later.

"By the way," he says. "The leader of the gym was here earlier. You might want to go challenge him while you're in the area." I nod and walk towards the door, ready to see what challenge the gym has in store.

* * *

><p><strong>So many battles in one chapter. But it was meant to be a joke about how everyone in the world pretty much wants to pick a fight with you. Even Cheren and Bianca don't want to just say hi or something.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

I leave the Trainer School and go down the street to a building with a sign out front saying this was the gym. Funny, this looks way too fancy for a place meant for battling. As I walk up the front steps, the doors open and a well-dressed man with green hair steps out.

He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a sigh. But when he opens his eyes and notices me standing there, he brightens up.

"Hello," he says. "Are you here to challenge the gym?"

"Uh...Yes."

His smile widens a bit more. "In that case, tell me, what was your first pokémon?"

"What? Why?"

"Just curious is all."

This whole thing is a bit odd, but I answer anyway. "Tepig."

"I see. That puts you at a disadvantage to water-types. You may want to train in the Dreamyard first."

"The Dreamyard? Who are you, and why is my first pokémon so important to you?"

"The Dreamyard is an abandoned factory to the east. Many trainers go there to get stronger before challenging the gym. You may even find something to help overcome that disadvantage I mentioned before. As for who I am, let's just say I'm a man who desperately wants to see an exciting battle." With a bow, he steps back into the building and closes the doors behind him.

Most people would probably have been hesitant to take the advice of a man they had just met. I, on the other hand, didn't have that much patience. And so, I found myself continuing down the street and out of the town.

When I had heard "abandoned factory," I had pictured a spooky building with smokestacks and broken windows filled with rusting machinery. In truth, the Dreamyard was a maze of crumbling walls and oil drums with vegetation growing over everything. I couldn't even get past the outer wall because the undergrowth was so thick. Like the green-haired guy had said, there were other trainers here willing to battle me, but I think the real reason he'd sent me here was the girl on the far side from where I'd entered.

"Hey there," she says as I approach. "What was the first pokémon you received?"

That question again. When I tell her I had chosen Tepig, she gives me a Pansage and says that it will help me in the gym. Isn't that convenient? I thank her and head back to town. Before returning to the gym, I stop by the Pokemon Center to stock up on supplies. The clerk hands me the items and I turn to leave when I spot the computer next to the nurse's desk. This is only the first gym and I already have five pokemon: Tepig, Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, and Pansage. If I'm going to get a good team, I need to free up some space for future additions. Since I have two normal-types, I put Lillipup into storage.

As I put Lillipup's ball into the machine and watch it disappear, I feel a tinge of sadness. I didn't even have it for that long, but I'm sad to see it go. Guess this is what they mean by trainers forming bonds with their pokémon. Well, wherever Lillipup is now, I hope it's happy. I'll be sure to send some friends later on.

But enough of this depressing stuff, I've got a gym battle to win.

I stride up the steps to the gym's doors, take a deep breath, and step inside. The interior of the gym stops me in my tracks and makes my jaw drop. I had thought the outside looked out of place, but that was nothing compared to this. Waiters and waitresses going around serving food and drink to customers at tables lining the walls. Golden chandeliers and embroidered tableclothes. Polished marble floors and porcelain teapots. Was I in the right place?

A woman behind a counter to the side beckons for me to come over. "Welcome," she says. "How may we serve you today?"

"Uh, is this really a gym?"

"Of course. Running a gym is expensive, so it doubles as a restaurant to cover the expenses."

"That's pretty cool, I guess. Anyway, I'm here to challenge the leader."

The room that had been full of chatter and the clang of moving dishes suddenly becomes completely quiet as everyone loooks this way. Had they really heard that? I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies.

"Very well, sir," the woman at the counter says. "You'll find them behind that curtain." She indicates a large red curtain at the back of the room.

I turn to walk away, but something she'd said stops me. "Them?"

She smiles. "You'll see." And that's all she'll say on the matter.

I walk towards the curtain and the people around me start whispering to each other. They're probably gauging my chances of winning, maybe even placing bets, but I don't care. I'm only there to win. I get closer to the curtain and notice three circles on the floor in front of it. A green one with a leaf pattern in the center, a red one with a fire symbol, and a blue one with a water drop. I assume they must be referencing the triangle of pokémon types: water, fire, and grass. I step on the blue circle and the curtain moves aside. Behind it is a blue curtain, and when I step on the green switch, it reveals a green curtain.

As this final curtain draws back, it unveils a set of stairs leading up to a raised platform. And standing at the top is the green-haired man from earlier. When the crowd sees him, the room fills with cheering.

"Welcome to the Striaton Gym," he says. "My name is Cilan, and I like grass-types."

Another man with spiky red hair walks out from behind him and takes a positon to Cilan's right. "I'm Chili! Lighting things up with fire-type pokémon!"

A man with blue hair covering one eye appears and steps to the other side. "And I'm the water-type specialist, Cress."

The trio end their introduction by simultaneously spinning in place and stopping in a dynamic pose. This sets off the crowd again. While the clapping dies down, Cilan waves for me to come up.

"The, um, three of us, uh, are here to, uh-" Apparently Cilan needs to take another look at his script.

Chili finishes the thought for him. "The three of us are going to decide who you battle based on your first pokemon."

Cress steps forward. "And according to Cilan, your first pokemon was a Tepig, a fire-type. Therefore, you shall face me and my water-types. Lucky you, you're being paired with the best of the three of us."

"Oh, you must say that to all the ladies," I joke.

Cilan and Chili move to the back of the stage while Cress and I take up positions on the left and right. The crowd goes quiet again and the anticipation becomes almost suffocating as they wait for the battle to start. The three Gym Leaders seem to enjoy putting on a show. In that case, I'll give the audience one they'll never forget.


	5. Chapter 5

Cress explains that he would only use two pokémon while I was free to use my entire team. That seems like he's giving me a huge advantage, but he is a Gym Leader, he must have something up his sleeve.

Cress starts out with a Lillipup and I call out Patrat. Patrat bites Lillipup, but it seems to have almost no effect. Cress orders it to use a move called Work Up. From what I remember from the Trainer School, Work Up increases a pokemon's power. I don't like where this is going. I tell Patrat to use Tackle and the attack hits hard. Still, the Lillipup remains standing and retaliates with a Tackle of its own. Even though Patrat gets back up after the hit, its legs are shaking and I know it won't last much longer. Regardless, we continue our attacks and Lillipup eventually wears down. Right as Cress's pokémon is about to go down, he calls it over to him and uses a potion on it. If that's how he wants to play, then I'll match his persistence. I use a potion on Patrat as well and Cress takes this time to use another Work Up. Patrat goes down after the next attack.

I send out Purrloin to see what it can do. It manages to dodge around for a bit and inflict minor damage with its claws, but it only takes two hits before falling unconscious as well.

As I send out Tepig, I realize why I've been allowed full access to my team. Tepig unleashes an Ember that leaves the Lillipup with a burn. After that, it's only too easy to beat it. Cress sends out his second and final pokémon, Panpour, and I switch out Tepig for Pansage. I can tell just by looking that Panpour is some degree stronger than my Pansage, but we've got a type weakness working for us. The audience starts buzzing with excitement because even though I've still got an extra pokemon, it's weak to water. That means that whichever pokémon wins this round decides the entire battle.

Pansage starts with a Vine Whip, but Panpour dodges to the side and retaliates with Water Gun. It doesn't do a lot, but every bit of damage counts at this point. Plus, using a ranged move like that gives it opportunity to do more damage much faster than we can. Pansage tries Vine Whip again, and this time it hits. The two pokémon go back and forth repeating the pattern of Vine Whip and Water Gun, and it's no surprise when Panpour is the first to start weakening. I can see Cress preparing another potion and Panpour is already moving towards him. I suddenly had an idea of how to end this battle right now. I told Pansage to use Vine Whip one last time and to aim it towards Cress. His eye (since I can only see one of them) widens as he sees the attack coming, but the vine is intercepted by Panpour, who was too focused on being healed to see it approaching.

Panpour falls to the ground, and the audience is stunned for several seconds. Slowly, applause starts from the front of the restaurant and the entire building is soon filled with clapping, whistling, and even some people chanting my name. Cress calls back his Panpour and walks toward me.

"That was quite an inspired finishing move. It's that kind of unorthodox tactic that gets trainers far in this world. But you don't want to hear my rambling, so I'll just get on with it." He clears his throat for his next theatrical line. "As per the Pokémon League rules, I bestow upon you the Trio Badge to commemorate your victory here today." He hands me the badge, a golden emblem with three colored stones, and I place it in the badge case I got from Professor Juniper.

Cilan walks over now. "And as is tradition in the Striaton Gym, our guest will be given a free meal at the Table of Honor."

The center of the platform slides open as an elevator brings up a large table, and the Gym Leaders waited on themselves as the crowd once again broke into applause. The entire thing was a little embarassing, but I never was one to turn down free food.

"Just remember," Cilan whispers as he pours my drink. "We're only the first gym, and we have to hold back for the sake of new trainers. The other gyms have no such limitations. From this point on, it can only get tougher."

With that cheery message echoing in my head, I make my way to the door. Outside, I'm ambushed by a woman in a lab coat.

"You must be Grey," she says. "I'm Fennel. Professor Juniper wanted me to give you something. Follow me." She starts walking away rather quickly and I hurry to keep up with her. She leads me to her lab, the second floor of a nearby house, and tells me about how she's researching trainers, whatever that means, I wasn't really listening. She then gives me something called a "Hidden Machine" that can apparently teach my pokemon the move Cut.

"How does it work?" I ask her.

"I'm not exactly sure, but you'll figure it out." Fennel is definitely different from Professor Juniper. She's not as...all there. "Anyway, I've got a favor to ask you. Have you been to the Dreamyard? Of course you have, you just beat the gym. Well, there's a pokemon named Munna that lives there and it gives off something called Dream Mist. I want you to get some of that Dream Mist for me."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, just go!" She screams at me as she pushes me out of the lab. I barely catch myself before I go rolling down the stairs.

On my way back to the Dreamyard, I pull out the HM Fennel gave me and look it over. It looks like a CD and I have no idea how this is supposed to teach a move. I then remember Professor Juniper saying something about the Pokédex being able to scan a Poké Ball and tell you that pokémon's moves, so maybe that has something to do with it. I take out my Pokédex and eventually find a narrow slot in the side about the size of the HM. I insert the disk, and the device's screen shows a black and white version of whatever is behind it with a bright red circle in the middle.

I unhook a Poké Ball from my belt and position it inside the circle. The circle changed from red to green and a button started blinking. I try it out with the rest of my pokémon, and the circle only turns green for a few of them, which I guess means only certain species can learn the move. In the end, I decide to use it on Purrloin, and when I press the flashing button, the circle turns blue. Sure enough, when I checked Purrloin's moves, Scratch had been replaced with Cut. Now that the mystery of the HM was solved, I may be able to go further into the Dreamyard.

In the Dreamyard, I search along the wall until I find the hole covered by plants. I call out Purrloin to use Cut to clear a path. The vegetation falls away and I step through only to be stopped by a familiar voice calling my name.

"Hey Grey! Did Fennel send you to find a Munna too?" Bianca runs up and follows me through the hole in the wall.

"Yeah, but I don't understand how we're supposed to get Dream Mist from it. Do we put it in a bottle or something?"

"Well, if a scientist like Fennel thinks we can do it, it can't be that hard." I'm about to explain why I disagree with her when she gasps and points ahead of us. Floating in the middle of the building's remains is a small pink creature I assume is Munna. As soon as it sees us, it starts moving away.

"Hey wait!" Bianca and I start chasing it as it flies toward the back of the factory. Suddenly two people jump out from behind a building and grab the Munna.

"Aha! We got you now."

"Start making Dream Mist!"

"Hey! What are you doing?" I shout and they turn toward me.

"We are Team Plasma, and we fight day and night to liberate pokemon from humans." That's right, they were the ones in Accumula Town with that Ghetsis guy. "Munna and Musharna emit a vapor called Dream Mist. This mist shows people's dreams, and we're going to use it to make people want to release their pokémon. But first, this Munna has to release it!" He started kicking Munna, making it cry out.

Bianca gasped. "Why are you doing this? You're trainers too, aren't you?"

"That's true. We use pokémon, but we use them for a different reason than other trainers: the freedom of Pokemon!"

I reach for the Poké Balls on my belt. "Nothing you guys say makes any sense, but if you want that Munna, you'll have to beat us!"

The Team Plasma members get ready to send out their own pokemon. "Very well. We'll beat you and force you to release your pokémon!"

Bianca and I split up and take one Plasma each. The one that battles me uses a single Patrat. No, I'm not kidding, he really only has one pokémon. Needless to say, the battle doesn't last very long. Bianca's opponent doesn't do much better with his Purrloin.

The Plasmas back away as their pokémon fall. "How could we lose?"

"If you're fighting to change the world, it's a good idea to have something to fight with." I tell them.

The braver of the two scowls. "Even so, we won't give up." He starts kicking Munna again. Bianca and I move to stop him when he and his partner suddenly freeze. Then, they start turning in circles with terrified looks on their faces.

"Ghetsis," one of them says.

"That's the look he has when he's about to issue punishment." They look at each other. "Let's get out of here!"

They stumble over each other trying to run away as fast as they can while Bianca and I watch them disappear, extremely confused.

"What just happened?" Bianca asks.

"I don't know, but they seemed to think they saw their leader. There's nobody here, though."

"I think I have the answer," says a voice from nowhere.

Bianca and I turn to see Fennel stepping from behind a broken piece of wall.

She explains, "I was getting bored, so I decided to follow you here."

"Okay," I say, feeling even more weirded-out. "So, what do you think happened?"

"That." She points behind us, and we turn to see the Munna being joined by what looks like a larger version of it. "That's a Musharna, Munna's evolved form. When it saw its friend in trouble, it used Dream Mist to show those men an illusion to scare them off."

The two pokémon float off, leaving a slight purple haze where they had been. I point it out to Fennel, and she gets excited and says that it's the Dream Mist she was after. She runs over and pulls a bottle out of her pocket and somehow manages to get some inside it. So much for not knowing how I was supposed to get some when I asked her. Fennel excitedly tells us to meet her at the lab before dashing away back to town. Bianca smiles at me while I sigh and wonder when this adventure is going to start making sense.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't think anyone actually knows how HMs and TMs work, but for the sake of the story, that's how I say they work.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Back at the lab, Fennel showed us the machine she had needed the dream mist to finish. She gave a description of what it did, but I didn't really pay attention. Afterwards, Bianca and I walk back outside.

She turns to me and says, "I'm gonna go back to the Dreamyard. After seeing that Munna, I decided I want to catch one of my own. Bye, Grey!"

She runs off without a second glance. What happened to all that talk about sticking together on this adventure back in Nuvema? I just shrug it off and start walking towards the town's exit when a thought stops me. Getting a psychic-type this early on could prove useful. I turn on my heel and follow Bianca's lead.

I crack my knuckles as I walk through the hole in the factory wall. From what I can tell, Munna must be pretty rare. In that case it'll probably take an hour or two of searching to even find a single one. Even then, I'll probably have a few encounters where it will escape right before I-

My inner monologue is cut short when, after barely taking two steps, a Munna floats up out of the grass a few feet in front of me. I stand in stunned silence, mouth agape, for a minute before slowly reaching into my bag for a Poké Ball. The pokémon finally notices me and takes off in the other direction.

"Hey!" I shout and chase after it.

The Munna leads me all around the old factory and eventually up to what used to be the second floor. With the walls gone, it's practically just a raised walkway with no rails or anything to keep people from tumbling off. Despite that, I continue my pursuit. The Munna slows down for some reason and I toss the ball in my hand. It closes around the pokémon and I keep running, catching it before it even hits the ground. As I do so, I see why the Munna may have stopped: the walkway ends. Of course, I only realize this as one foot reaches floor level and keeps going.

I hope the grass is soft.

About half an hour after regaining consciousness, I limp onto Route 3. Here, I pass by a day care for pokémon with a preschool next door. Walking by, I can see some of the kids on the playground having pokémon battles. Wait a minute. I'm seventeen and just got my first pokemon a few days ago, but these kids can't be more than five. And yet they already have some of their own?

While I mull over what's wrong with this picture, I spot a fork in the road up ahead. More importantly, I also see Cheren leaning against a tree. He straightens up as I approach and opens his mouth to speak.

"Wait. Let me guess," I say before he even starts. "You want to challenge me to a battle."

Cheren blinks. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"

"Because you and Bianca never just want to say 'hi' anymore, so let's get it over with already."

"...Very well."

Just as we're about to begin, we get shoved aside by two runners. I catch myself before I get a mouthful of dirt and barely get a glimpse as the figures disappear around a corner. Footsteps come from behind, and I turn to see Bianca and a little girl.

"Did you guys see two people running past here?" Bianca asks as she catches her breath.

"Yeah," Cheren answers. "Just a few seconds ago, actually. What's going on?"

"Those people stole this girl's pokemon."

I groan. "They must have been members of Team Plasma causing mischief again. Playing the hero is starting to lose its novelty."

Cheren turns in the direction the Plasmas had gone. "I don't know what you mean by that, but we can't just let them get away. Grey, come with me. Bianca, you stay here with the girl."

Bianca calls for us to be careful as Cheren and I start running after the Team Plasma members. The path bends to the right, and a cave appears in the side of the mounain on our left.

"What is this place?" I ask, peering into the darkness.

"Wellspring Cave. Rainwater eroded the rock inside and created an underwater pool. It's one of the natural wonders of Unova. It's also the only place for those criminals to hide."

We step into the cave and duck as a swarm of Woobat fly overhead. After the cave clears, we keep walking until Cheren points at something against the far wall. The Plasmas are leaning against it, panting after their speedy escape. They jump to their feet at the sound of us moving towards them.

"Give back that girl's pokemon," Cheren demands.

One of the Plasmas scoffs. "She couldn't use that pokemon to its full potential. Therefore, she doesn't deserve to have it."

"The same goes for you two," the other says. "Now hand them over or we'll have to take them by force."

Cheren and I look at each other as we both come to the same conclusion: talking won't work. In that case, time for something more fun. We send out Tepig and Oshawott while the Plasmas, not expecting the move, fumble to retaliate. Once again showing their inability to fight effectively, the Plasma facing me calls out a single Patrat. The lack of challenge is almost enough to make me laugh. Tepig is strong enough to finish the battle with a few uses of Tackle, but on the finishing blow something strange happens. As Tepig dashes forward, its body becomes engulfed in flames and it starts moving faster than ever.

Cheren lets out an impressed whistle, "Looks like your Tepig just learned Flame Charge. Very nice."

The Plasmas back into a corner as their pokémon fall and one of them pulls a ball out of his pocket.

"Okay, we'll return the pokémon," he says. "Just let us go."

I take it from his hand, and the Plasmas run out of the cave. As much as I hate seeing them go free, we didn't really have anything else we could do to them. Cheren and I make our way back to where Bianca and the little girl are waiting. Seeing the joy on the girl's face as I hand her the Poké Ball makes me rethink what I'd said earlier. Maybe playing the hero isn't such a bad thing after all.


	7. Chapter 7

After the incident with Team Plasma and the little girl's stolen pokémon; Bianca, Cheren, and I make our way south along Route 3. Along the way, we encounter a couple of Blitzle and I catch one for myself, filling the sixth slot in my team. There's a funny moment later on with another trainer using a Blitzle at the same time as me. Not bothering to switch out to anything else, it becomes a contest of whose Quick Attack is more effective since electric moves have no effect.

Eventually, the three of us arrive in Nacrene City. We walk down the street to heal our teams at the Pokémon Center and I take a look at the surroundings.

"Do people actually live here?" I wonder out loud. "There's nothing but warehouses."

Cheren explains, "Years ago, these were textile factories and storehouses. When they were abandoned, designers and artists moved in and started using them as studios. Some of their fans occupied the rest of the buildings, and others decided to set up shops. All of these things as well as the local museum have earned Nacrene the nickname 'City of Art.'

"Cool...I guess."

We reclaim our pokémon and discuss what to do next.

"I'm kinda hungry," Bianca says. "There's a café up the road I want to visit, so that's where I'll be if you need me." She doesn't even finish speaking before running off.

Cheren sighs and wipes a smudge off his glasses. "It's just not in her nature to stay in one place, is it? Still, lunch does sound good right now. Are you coming, Grey?"

I shake my head. "Nah. I'm going straight to the gym!" I smile and clench my fist in excitement.

Cheren smiles at me as if he knows something I don't. "In that case, I wish you the best of luck. The leader uses normal-types."

"Ha! This should be easy then."

Cheren gives me that smile again before turning and walking away. I brush it off and find a bulletin board with a map of the town, searching for the gym. Apparently, it's down the street from the café Cheren and Bianca went and right next to the museum. The names are close together anyway. But when I get to where the gym is supposed to be, all I see is the museum.

After a few minutes of walking up and down the street (even looking behind the museum), I finally understand why I can't find it. The gym and museum are in the same building. Well if the one in Striaton could function as a restaurant, then why not?

Before I can go inside though, the doors open and someone steps out (just like last time). It's a young man about my age with long green hair and...Oh no! It's this guy again! What was his name? L? Q? M? N! That's right, his name is N...Weird name. He walks out of the museum with his hands tucked in his pockets. He must remember me as well, because when he sees me, he starts walking over.

Here we go again. As he breaks into another nonsensical monologue, I make a game of thinking up cynical comebacks.

"I...want to see things no one can see," N says.

And how exactly would you do that?

"The truths of pokémon inside Poké Balls."

I didn't know they could lie.

"The ideals of how trainers should be."

...I got nothing witty to say there.

"And a future where Pokemon have become perfect. Do you feel the same?"

I stand silently as I try to figure out what in the world he's talking about.

Finally, I just decide to be honest. "Dude, I have no idea what half the things you say are supposed to mean. Could you try not to be all cryptic? I'm sure the ladies love it, but it's just getting on my nerves."

N gives me the same blank stare he always does as he replies, "You do not understand because you are not ready. Perhaps my friends and I can help you see that future." He reaches for I Poké Ball.

Now he's speaking my language.

He calls out a Pidove, and I counter with my new Blitzle. Despite the favorable type matchup, Blitzle is still somewhat weak. Its Shock Wave attack is effective, but it's not enough to keep Pidove from swooping in and landing a few good hits. Blitzle hops to the side to avoid an Air Cutter before closing the distance with Quick Attack to finish N's pokémon.

Pidove is recalled and replaced with a small blue-and-black pokemon the Pokédex identifies as the water-type Tympole. I can tell Blitzle is hurting from that first round, so I switch out with Pansage. The Tympole starts off with Supersonic causing Pansage to become disoriented. Pansage tries to use Vine Whip, but the vines end up wrapping around its legs and bringing Pansage to the ground. I watch in suspense as my pokémon struggles to free itself, all the while being bombarded by attacks from Tympole. Pansage finally breaks loose and unleahes a strike on Tympole just as it fires a Bubblebeam. The beam hits Pansage with full force while the Vine Whip only lands a glancing blow at best.

I return Pansage to his ball and send out Purrloin.

"Kitty wants some fish," I remark under my breath.

As Purrloin attacks with Fury Swipes, I can't help but wonder how it can be a dark-type and not know a single dark move. Not even Bite! I guess it doesn't matter what moves are used just as long as it can still put up a fight. And that's exactly what Purrloin does. Fury Swipes lands a few lucky hits and Tympole goes down.

"I will not be stopped," N says as he sends out his final pokemon: Timburr.

Timburr is a fighting-type, and it takes all of my strength not to laugh maniacally as Munna takes the field. Not only is Munna a superior type and awesome in terms of absorbing damage, it can also use Psybeam with incredible efficiency. As his Timburr falls to a single blast, a flicker of emotion crosses N's face. I'm not sure what emotion it was, but I take pleasure in being able to slip past his guard.

He lowers his head to adjust his cap, and his face is once again an expressionless mask when he looks back up.

"My friends aren't strong enough to save the world yet. I need more power. Power that will make everyone agree with me."

I assume he's just ranting about losing. "Whatever, man. If you ever feel the need to be humbled again, come find me. You seem to be showing a knack for it."

N moves past me and walks away, mumbling to himself. I catch a mention of Reshiram, one of the legendary pokémon that supposedly created Unova. I decide to approach this guy with caution from now on and turn to enter the museum/gym. A sudden thought stops me and I clutch my head in frustration.

"Agh! I just came from the Pokémon Center, and now I have to go back!"

* * *

><p><strong>True story: The first time I arrived in Nacrene in the game I really did spend a couple of minutes looking for the gym before thinking to check the museum. It's moments like those that provide such good writing material.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

When I finally make my way into the Nacrene Museum, a dark-haired man in a lab coat approaches me and holds his arms up in welcome. He introduces himself as Hawes, the assistant director of the museum. Before I get a chance to even explain why I'm there, he's leading me on a tour of Unova's treasures. I guess I should be thankful there's only enough to fill one exhibit hall.

Right in front of the entrance, there's a fossilized statue of a giant dragon-type pokémon. Hawes explains that by some "scientific research" it was determined that it died as a result of an accident while flying. Interesting to someone, I guess. Next, the assistant director shows me a meteorite that apparently contains some kind of space energy. Next to the meteorite, there's a round black stone about the size of my hand. It looks out of place compared to the other things here, so I ask Hawes about it.

"Oh, that? That's just an ordinary rock. Other than the fact that it's old and was found in the desert, there's nothing really special about it. We just put it in on display because we had an empty case." I'm starting to question this guy's scientific merit.

Hawes leads me up a set of stairs to a doorway leading further in. "But I assume this is why you're really here," he says. "The gym is through here, and at the end is a very strong and kind Gym Leader, Lenora. She's also my wife, by the way, so tell her I said that if she asks."

"Uh..." I don't even know what to say, so I just stand and watch as Hawes dashes away to intercept a family that had just walked into the building. No doubt intending to give his "highly informative" tour to them.

I turn around and step through the door he had indicated. At the end of a short hallway, I find myself inside a library. Rows upon rows of bookcases take up most of the floor space, and the only clue as to where I go next is a sign on the checkout desk..

"Attention trainers! Before you can challenge Gym Leader Lenora, you must first pass a simple test. Throughout the library, there are books with riddles written inside that will lead you toward the next clue. The first clue is inside a book titled _Nice to Meet You, Pokémon_. Good luck." Doesn't sound too difficult.

The shelves have labels on the sides that list the category of the books on it. Judging by the book's title, I start looking in the children's section. I have to climb a ladder to reach it on the top shelf, but I eventually find the book I'm looking for. _Nice to Meet You, Pokémon_ is an old fairy tale about a kid who meets a pokémon for the first time. As I flip through the pages, a piece of paper pokes out from between a couple. I take out the note and read it.

"Well done, trainer. You have found the first of four memos hidden in the library's books. In order to find the next one, you must answer this question: What was the first pokémon you met in this gym?"

First pokémon? That's hardly a riddle, but right after I started this little scavenger hunt, a guy with a Patrat challenged me to a battle near the entrance. I thought it was a weird place to go looking to pick a fight, but maybe that wasn't why he was there. The answer to the question must have something to do with Patrat. There's an entire row of shelves dedicated to pokémon biology towards the front, sorted by names. I skim through the letters until I reach P and take the first book.

"Biology of...Pachirisu?"

Guess these books cover pokémon from all over the world. I set the book down and continue along the line. Palkia. Panpour. Pansage. Pan-whatever. Ah! Patrat.

I open to the first page and start reading. "Patrat communicate by movement of their tails. They raise their tails when blah blah blah."

I try shaking the book to try and dislodge the note inside. When nothing falls out, I close the book and turn it over to see the memo is taped to the back cover this time.

"You're probably thinking that question was way too easy, aren't you? Well that was just the warmup. Here's the second clue: Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs."

This sounds like it could be implying another pokémon, but I doubt Lenora would put two clues in the same section. I roam the aisles looking for anything that might fit the description in the second riddle when something catches my eye. A woman is sitting at a table, reading a book about old trains. A picture on one of the pages shows an old steam locomotive with a diagram of the coal burner and smoke coming out of the top.

That was convenient.

The woman turns around and notices me standing there. "Oh, were you reading this?" she asks me. "This book was just sitting here open and I kind of got sucked into it. I'll just come back later after you're finished." She stands up and walks away, looking embarassed about the whole thing. Works for me, just as long as I get that memo.

"Very impressive," the note reads. "You must be pretty smart to piece that puzzle together. However, it's not over yet. Time for the third question: If you heat it up in a pot, it'll be delicious. What is this?"

I know this one! A couple weeks ago, my sister sent home a letter about her own adventures. In it, she described how she had gone to a street fair that had a vendor selling some kind of pokémon snacks from the Sinnoh region called poffins. The vendor even showed how they were made: by putting berries into a pot and heating them up. I move back toward the entrance and find a shelf full of cookbooks and others relating to food. Inside a book about poffins, I find the next clue.

"You're getting extremely close to finding me now! Here's the final hint: From this bookshelf...Move two backward, one to the left, two forward, one to the right, and one backward."

What? It sounds like directions to a certain part of the room, but what does it mean backward and forward? The memo says from this bookshelf, so backward could be towards the rear of the library. But two what? Steps? No, that doesn't make sense. Maybe it means other bookshelves. It makes as much sense as the rest of this little puzzle.

I follow the directions stated in the riddle and find myself at the bookcase directly behind where I started. At first, I wonder what I'm supposed to be looking for. Then, I notice a suspicious gap in the books on the bottom shelf. I bend down to get a closer look and I see that one part of the wood is darker than the rest and in the shape of a perfect circle. I put my finger on top of the circle and push.

I lurch back as, with a whirr of machinery, the shelf slides away to reveal a hidden staircase. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and descend into the hole. At the bottom, I enter an office with bone-filled glass cases and shelves filled with research material. Sitting behind a large wooden desk, chin resting on hands, is a woman I can only assume is Lenora. She smiles as I step into the center of the room and stands up.

"Welcome," she says as she steps closer. "I hope you enjoyed my little test. You've certainly proven yourself to have intelligence, but do you have the same ability when it comes to battling?"

"I guess we'll find out." I pull my hat down as my mouth expands into a smile.

Lenora laughs once. "That's what I like to hear! Let's get started then."

Lenora calls out a Herdier, the evolved form of Lillipup, and as the battle kicks off, I realize I've made a mistake by coming here so soon. Herdier makes short work of Tepig and barely takes any damage itself. Pansage manages to hit with Leech Seed, but falls soon after. This helps as Purrloin connects with a couple of solid Cuts, but Lenora renders it all pointless with a super potion. In the end, I have to use Munna's Psybeam to put a stop to the rampage. I breath a sigh of relief only for it to catch in my throat when Lenora lets out a shout.

"Watchog, go!"

Oh crap! I had so much trouble with her first pokémon, I completely forgot about her others. When I first see Watchog, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "My Patrat is going to look like that someday? Cool." Soon followed by, "I'm in trouble now," as it swats Munna out of the air. Whatever pokémon I have left are brought down by a lethal combination of Leer and Crunch.

As I recall my defeated pokémon, Lenora says to me, "Looks like you need more practice. If I were you, I'd go out to Pinwheel Forest and train there. I'll be waiting."

I walk up the stairs out of Lenora's office, make my way through the library, and outside the museum. Now I know why Cheren was smiling when I told him I was going to the gym. He knew I wasn't going to win. Well, I'll show him. I'll go to Pinwheel Forest and train until I know my team can beat Lenora, and then I'll-

My growling stomach cuts my internal pep talk short.

But before all of that, I need to get something to eat. Where did Cheren and Bianca go again?


	9. Chapter 9

I walk down the street from the museum to the café next door and go inside. I find my friends at a table in the corner and pull up a chair next to Bianca.

"Back already?" Cheren remarks cynically without even looking up from his burger. "Come to flash your shiny new badge in front of us?"

I let out a sigh. He knows exactly what I'm going to say, but I say it anyway. "No. I lost."

Bianca "aww's" in sympathy and pulls my head into her shoulder as if I'm about to burst into tears at any moment. "It's alright, Grey. Every trainer loses a battle at some point."

"We've certainly had our share thanks to you," Cheren adds. I scowl at him and swipe a couple of french fries off of his plate after freeing myself. Bianca also splits her sandwich with me and the three of us spend the next few minutes talking.

As we finish eating, I ask Cheren, "So, Wise One, you gonna show me up and take on the Gym Leader now?"

"Heh. I'm not that foolish. I'm going to Pinwheel Forest to work on a strategy."

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing."

"And I'm sure you came up with that plan all on your own. No prompting from Lenora whatsoever?" The sarcasm almost physically dripped off of his words.

I place my hands on the table and lean forward so I can look him in the eye. "Okay, Mr. Superiority Complex, how about we make a bet? Whoever gets Lenora's badge first wins."

Bianca grabs my arm and tries to pull me back. "Guys, take it easy. There's no need to fight."

Cheren looks back at me with his calculating stare and a smirk. "This isn't a fight, Bianca. Our friend is simply suggesting a little good-natured competition. How much are we wagering?"

I think about it for a minute, trying to decide on a perfect amount. Enough to humble Cheren, but not so much that it leaves me broke in the event I lose. "Three thousand."

He chuckles. "You might as well just offer to buy my groceries at that price, but I accept."

The two of us stand up and start heading for the door. Before we get too far, Bianca calls to us.

"Hey, what about paying for the food?"

I glance over at Cheren to see him turn slightly red at the fact he'd almost dine-and dashed. I laugh as he pulls out his wallet and hands a few bills to the cashier. Then, faster than I can react, he snatches my wallet out of my pocket and takes some money out of it.

"Hey!"

"It only seemed right that you pay for the half of Bianca's sandwich you ate," he says. "And my fries."

"Fair enough. I'll be getting it back once I win the bet." From now on, I'm keeping my cash in the pocket inside my jacket.

Once the bill is paid, our merry band leaves town through the western entrance. Instead of sticking to the main road and entering the forest proper, we detour just outside. With one last glare passed between us, Cheren and I go our seperate ways. Bianca looks back and forth between us before chasing after me.

"Grey, I don't like this," she says.

"What? The bet? Bianca, it's just a stupid little thing to make this more exciting."

"Maybe it is right now, but what about later? A bet could turn into something bigger, and suddenly my closest friends are mortal enemies." Something in her voice makes it sound like she could start crying at any second. "I'd be forced to choose between you, and I can't do that." Her voice cracks and I can tell actually is crying at this point.

I stop and turn to the girl behind me with her hands over her eyes, trying and failing to stop the flow of tears. I gently coax her into sitting down in the grass and settle down beside her.

"Listen. Believe it or not, Cheren isn't stupid enough to let some pokémon battles ruin our friendship. This isn't the the first time he and I have had a disagreement, and it won't be the last. I guarantee that. But back then, we always came out of it smiling, so I'm sure the same will be true here. That's why you need to stop worrying about us and focus on being the best trainer you can."

Bianca manages a laugh. "When did you get so deep? But you're right."

"Do you need a hug?"

She just nods, so I wrap an arm around her shoulders while she lays her head against me. After a minute or two, she calms down and we stand up.

"Thanks, Grey. If you don't mind, there's something back in town I need to do. I'll see you later." She runs off, and I watch her disappear around the corner before getting back to my training.

Several trainers are wandering around in the trees, but most of my battles are with the local wild pokémon. After one such encounter with a Timburr, Tepig starts to glow. From what I've heard, this can only mean that it was evolving.

A bright white flash forces me to shield my eyes, and when I look back, Tepig had completely changed. It now stood on two legs with its arms held up as if flexing them, and the pattern of its coloratin makes it look like it's wearing a wrestling uniform of some kind.

I consult the Pokédex and learn that I am now the proud owner of a Pignite. I skim through the basic information, but one characteristic stands out.

"Piginte is a fire AND fighting-type? And Lenora's pokémon are weak against fighting moves. Isn't that convenient?"

Laughing all the way; I dash out of the woods, up the road into Nacrene City, through the museum, and into the library. A glimpse of blue catches my eye, and I see Cheren standing in front of the bookcase hiding the stairs to Lenora's office. He crouches down and presses the button that slides the shelf to the side. But before he can stand back up, I zoom past him and down the stairs.

"Thanks for holding the door!" I shout up at him as I descend.

I hear him curse before footsteps start following me down. Cheren catches up, and burst into the office at the same time. However, what we see causes us to stop in our tracks.

Lenora is standing in the center of the room, but she's not alone. There's someone standing in front of her. That someone is a girl about the same age as me and Cheren with blond hair, a green hat, an orange blouse, and a long white skirt. That someone is Bianca, and Lenora is giving her the gym badge.

"Oh! More challengers?" Lenora says when she notices us. "I'm sorry, but I have to run up to the Pokémon Center before I can have another match."

The Gym Leader walks past us and out of the room. Bianca smiles and walks over to us, holding up the badge for us to see.

"Check it out, I won! Now if I remember correctly, you two owe me some money."

Cheren and I look at each other, then back to Bianca with a synchronized "What?"

If anything, Bianca's smile actually gets bigger. "The rules were 'whoever gets the badge first wins.' No one ever said that didn't include me."

I turn to Cheren for support, but he only shrugs. "She has a point. Well played, Bianca."

"I bet that little speech in the forest was all part of the plan too," I grumble.

After pocketing our cash, Bianca bids farewell and bounds up the stairs.

"So now what?" I ask Cheren.

"We should decide who faces Lenora next. But we should handle it like gentlemen."

"Rock-Paper-Scissors?"

"Good enough."


	10. Chapter 10

"So, you're back for a rematch already? I hope you took my advice on training in Pinwheel Forest."

Lenora had returned from her visit to the Pokémon Center, and the two of us took our places for battle.

"I did. And this time, I know I'll win."

Wasting no more time on words, Lenora calls out her Herdier. I decide to start with my Munna for its high defense. Herdier manages to inflict massive damage with Bite, but not before taking a good bit from Munna's Psybeam. Before Herdier can finish it off, I withdraw Munna and tag in Patrat. As Herdier rushes forward for a Take Down, I gamble on an idea I came up with during my training.

"Patrat, jump!"

Without missing a beat, Patrat leaps into the air as Herdier trips and falls after failing to connect with its intended target. Patrat lands on top of the dog pokémon and sinks its teeth into Herdier's back. Lenora's pokémon jumps to its feet and attempts to shake off Patrat, who clings to Herdier's fur to stay on. Eventually, exhaustion and damage from Patrat's attacks bring it down. Lenora and I both call back our pokémon for the moment of truth.

Lenora's Watchog appears, and when it sees me, it smiles as if remembering how I had presented practically no challenge to it earlier that day. The smug look disappears, however, and is replaced by widened eyes as I send out my secret weapon. Pignite. Smoke puffs out of Pignite's nose as it snorts and stares down its opponent. Watchog darts forward and attacks with Crunch, but if Pignite even felt the hit, it doesn't show as it pulls back an arm and unleashes its new move, Arm Thrust. In the blink of an eye, Pignite's palm launches forward and smashes into Watchog's face. Before Watchog has a chance to recover, it gets again. And again. And again. And again, five in total. With the devastating attack finally over, Watchog sways back and forth before falling to the ground.

"Well done, young man," Lenora says as we recall our pokémon and walk towards each other. "Not only did you manage to beat me this time, you did so without losing a single member of your team. And so, I would like to congratulate you with this Plain Badge."

I take the rectangular piece of purple and gold metal and tuck it inside my badge case. As I turn to leave, Hawes comes rushing down the stairs.

"Lenora, there's trouble! Some people just stormed into the museum and are trying to take the fossils!"

I have an idea on who those people might be, so I tag along with the curators as they run upstairs. Sure enough, Team Plasma members are all over the place. As we descend the steps to the museum floor, the Plasmas form a line in front of us.

"So glad you could join us, Gym Leader," Says the Plasma leading the raid. "It wouldn't feel right doing this if you didn't know the reason behind it. In the name of pokémon liberation, Team Plasma will be claiming the dragon's skull from your museum."

What does Team Plasma want with an old bone?

Lenora steps forward, but the Plasma leader throws something to the ground. A cloud of smoke blossoms from his feet, blinding us as the Plasmas go about their work. When the smoke clears, we see that all of the Team Plasma members have vanished along with the head of the dragon skeleton. Lenora and I rune outside to try and catch up, but they're nowhere in sight. As we look around, a guy with a scarf and poofy brown hair approaches.

"Good day, Lenora," he says. "Found any good fossils lately?"

"Now's not a good time, Burgh," Lenora responds irritably.

"Yes, I thought you looked bothered. Did something happen?"

"Yes, something happened! A fossil was just stolen from the museum!"

While Lenora's yelling at the newcomer, Bianca comes walking over from down the street and Cheren pops out of the museum.

"Hey, guys," Bianca greets us. "I heard something was going on over here, so I came to see what it was all about."

"So it would seem," Cheren says. "I kind of lost myself in a book, and when I looked up, everyone was running outside. What did I miss?"

"Team Plasma raided the museum and took off with one of the exhibits," I explain.

For some reason, Cheren laughs at this. "Oh, is that all?"

Lenora rounds on him with fire in her eyes. "What do you mean 'is that all?' I'll have you know, that fossil is incredibly important to the museum!" The force of her rage freezes Cheren to the spot. "But we don't have time to stand here discussing it, we need to get it back! You two!" She points towards Bianca and Cheren. "Stay here and guard the museum. Burgh, you take Grey and search Pinwheel forest. I'll head out to Route 3."

She takes off toward the east gate, leaving the rest of us standing there speechless.

The man known as Burgh recovers first and turns to me. "I assume you must be Grey. As you may have guessed, my name is Burgh. I'm the Gym Leader of Castelia City as well as the most famous artist in all of Unova!" As he says that last part, he steps forward and points at the sky dramatically. When he notices our lack of any kind or reaction, he clears his throat awkwardly. "Oh, but I guess that's not really important right now. Come on, I'll lead the way."

We make our way down the road past where Cheren and I had been training earlier until the trees around us become so thick, they begin to block out the sun.

As we walk, Burgh explains the plan. "The thieves know we're looking for them, so they'd want to avoid the roads until the coast is clear. So, if they came this way, they must be hiding somewhere in the forest. Now, there are only two ways through here: the road we're on now and a path that leads deeper in. I want you to take that path and try to find them. While you're doing that, I'll take this road straight to the exit and block it in case they try to escape. Sound good?"

"Well... it's better than nothing, I guess."

"That's the spirit!"

The time comes for us to split up, and Burgh gives me an encouraging smile before continuing up the road. I let out a sigh and start down my own path. I don't see why I'm doing the hard part, but there's not much to gain by arguing with a Gym Leader.

Going deeper into the forest, I start to come across several new pokémon, mostly bug or grass-types. I don't really bother with them, though. I'm not a big fan of bug-types, and I already have a Pansage, so why bother getting another grass-type?

I turn around a bend in the path and jump back just in time to avoid colliding with someone coming the other way. In the dim light, I can make out the person's outfit and realize it's a Team Plasma member.

"You!" the Plasma exclaims. "You're the brat who keeps interfering with Team Plasma's plans! Well, I'm putting a stop to you."

Instead of getting pumped for the battle, I groan inwardly at the monotony of constantly beating these guys. At least this one uses a Sandile instead of the usual Patrat or Purrloin. But that doesn't mean he puts up any more of a fight than the others before. He calls back his pokémon and runs back toward the forest entrance. It seems I'm going the right way, but one Plasma doesn't guarantee that the rest are still here.

Some time later, I start to see these strange mounds of earth off to the side of the path. Curious, I approach one of these mounds. The ground seems to explode, and I let out a shamefully high-pitched yelp as a woman in orange appears in front of me.

"Sorry about that," she says. "Did I scare you?"

"I think it's pretty understandable to be caught off-guard by a person jumping out of a hole in the ground! What were you doing down there anyway?"

"I'm a Pokémon Ranger assigned to watch for troublemakers in the forest. We use these holes when we want to stay out of sight while we do it."

"Okay. Then why did you decide to pop out now?"

"You looked like you were looking for something, and I thought I could help." The Ranger starts rubbing the side of her head. "But your scream was almost enough to make me reconsider."

I chuckle nervously and feel my face heating up. "Um, did you happen to see a group of people in weird outfits run through here?"

"Yeah. They passed by a few minutes ago. They seemed to be in a hurry for some reason."

"Thanks." At least now I know they're still in the forest.

Leaving the Ranger to her work, I follow the path as it runs parallel to a deep ravine. A flash of movement on the other side catches my eye, and I spot a Plasma disappearing into a cluser of trees. I also see where a tree on the far side had fallen over and gotten stuck on the rocky wall a few feet below me. If it would support my weight, I could use it as a bridge. But if it didn't...I really wish I had a pokémon that knew Fly.

Time to roll the dice.

I take a deep breath and jump. My stomach lurches for a split second before my feet make contact and I latch onto the bark for dear life. I freeze, waiting for any sign that my landing disturbed the log's position. When nothing happens, I slowly straighten up and take a shaky step forward. I start feeling a little more confident until, halfway across, I hear a sound from behind me. I turn around and see the end of the tree starting to slide downwards.

"Oh, that's just typical."

I pick up the pace as my makeshift bridge slowly becomes an uphill climb. Just as it's about to give way entirely, I leap forward and roll into the grass on the other end. I lay there for a minute catching my breath, and the only thing that comes to my mind is, "Why is no one ever around to see when I do something awesome?"

I stagger to my feet and move to where I saw that Plasma enter the trees. I follow the trail of trampled grass and broken tree branches and come upon a Plasma that seems to have gotten separated from the rest of the group. Even better, he was the one that had been in charge of carrying the dragon skull that now rested at his feet. A twig snaps under my foot and the Plasma turns around, thinking I must be a cohort. When he realizes I'm not, he backs away and tosses out three Poké Balls at once: two Patrat and a Sandile.

"I must be getting a reputation," I remark with a smirk. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were afraid of me." The Plasma tries to put on a brave face, but he also swallows nervously, ruining the effect. "Three at once, huh? I think I'll go with Purrloin and...Pansage."

It's saying something when I use two of my softest-hitting pokémon at once. Pansage uses its Vine Whip on Sandile and defeats it in a couple of hits while Purrloin downs both Patrat with a Fury Swipes combo.

The Plasma stumbles backwards and trips over the dragon skull. He doesn't even get back up to continue the retreat, he just crawls off into the trees. Shaking my head at Team Plasma's latest show of incompetence, I pick up the skull and return to the path. I meet up with Burgh a few minutes later, and we return to Nacrene. When we reach the museum, we find the others standing outside. When they see me and Burgh returning with the fossil, Lenora rushes forward to take it from me.

"Thank you, Grey. This is-"

She stops mid-sentence, and I turn around to see what's caught her attention. An old man in robes similar to the man from Accumula Town, Ghetsis, stands behind us.

"I am Gorm, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma," he says. "Several times now, the child in the red-and-white hat and his friends have thwarted Team Plasma in several of our endeavors. Even now, he has managed to stop the theft of the dragon skull. But do not worry, I have no interest in attempting to take it back. We had believed the skull to be that of a legendary pokémon, but our research has proven otherwise. Regardless, know that Team Plasma is not to be taken lightly, and further interference will not be tolerated." His eyes sweep over everyone assembled. "That goes for all of you."

I get the feeling that this guy means business, and with a swish of his robes, he walks away while we watch in silence. I find it unlikely that I'll follow his advice, but I'm starting to think it can't end well.


End file.
